Native American Nations - Introduction: 1,000s of Groups in the Americas and Worldwide

Native North Americans Live in thousands of Tribes and Groups.

The answer will comprise several Hubs and I hope that you find the series informative and enjoyable. Recognizing Indigenous Groups at the Federal, State, and emerging levels is an ongoing process. Since preparations for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the number of groups in British Columbia alone jumped from some 200 to over 600 separate entities.

The series is a large undertaking, based in part on my 40 years of study of Indigenous Peoples around the world. Today's anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, the related National Geographic - Smithsonian Institution - IBM Human Genome Project, and our innumerable tribal leaders have not yet completed a total description of all groups and habitats. New information emerges monthly.

Ties between New World and Old World peoples are increasing in numbers and evidence that the First Nations/Native Americans of North America traveled even into Iceland is certain. Evidence is discussed throughout the last Hubs in the series. Thanks for reading.

Ties between New World and Old World peoples are increasing in numbers.

Arapahoe Tipis in camp | Source

Traditional Prayer

(...Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio and other groups)

" Oh Great Spirit, Whose Voice I Hear in the wind, Whose breath gives life to the world, hear me. I come to you as one of your many children, I am small and weak, I need your strength and wisdom. May I walk in beauty, make my eyes behold the red and purple sunset, make my hands respect the things that you have made, and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may know the things that you have taught your children, the lessons that you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Make me strong...not to be superior to my brothers but to be able to fight my greatest enemy.. myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with straight eyes so that when life fades as the faded sunset, my spirit will come to you without shame. "

How Many Nations?

How many blades of grass?

We have 1,000+ Native American Nations within the United States alone.

Native Americans in North America are members of at least

579 federally recognized Native American Nations,

17 nations that are recognized only in several US States, and

Several nations (or tribes) not yet recognized by any American government other than their own community; for example,

228 separate Native American entities in Alaska alone that are not recognized by the US federal government.

Considering all of this, we have at least 807 Native American Nations that are known in the 50 United States, with many more in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

It has been popular and incorrect to consider "North American Indians" a group of 500 nations. The nearly 1,000+ separate tribes and smaller communities consider themselves separate entities.

Many of these groups have applied for US federal recognition successfully and many more may be accepted. Some researchers, even of Native American blood, group some nations together, but these nations do not group themselves together. They define their own being.

Complicating the documentation process is the fact that approximately 50% of Native Americans do not live on reservations. There are many other people that do not know that they have Native American heritage! Add to this a sizeable group of people that believe that they are Native American, but are actually not, and we have a large documentation and tracking task.

Recent publications have not addressed all of these 1,000 Native American Nations. These particular and recent books include:

1) 200 tribes discussed:

Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes by Carl Waldman. New Your: Fact on File [2006]

3) 500 tribes discussed:

500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians by Alvin M. Jr Josephy. New York: Gramercy [2002]

2) 400 tribes discussed

The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes by Sahron Malinowski. Detroit; Gale [1998]

Meanwhile, The Smithsonian Institution Museum of the American Indian and large scientific DNA/RNA tracking projects are discovering other tribes or nations and introducing them to the world.

Methods for Documenting Native American Nations

How can we know about the locations of Native Americans? There are at least four ways:

Information from the oral traditions of the Native Peoples..

Information from archaeological finds.

Evidence from molecular genetics.

Evidence in linguistics.

.

An early example from the tracing of linguistics among Sioux-related tribes follows below. The map following that, though first shown in 1999, is outdated.

Example: Location of just Sioux-related Languages/Tribes on First Contact

Click to enlarge.

Native American Entities in Alaska Alone

Click thumbnail to view full-size

Groups that are State-recognized, but are not Federally Recognized groups.

Related Maps

Click thumbnail to view full-size

Non-Native American use and claim to lands in the New World in 1800 (public domain).

Anishinaabewaki reservations in North America.

Simllified representation of major groups (several nations in each).

God Is Red

Native American Cultures and Religions

Much is to be learned about Native Americans from archaeological finds and anthropological research and one segment of this is the religious element of life among indigenous peoples. The following is a controversial book that has provided much discussion about tribes and religions.

The Smithsonian Institution and Related Native American Sites

The Human Genome Project - Native AmericansDeclaration of Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere Regarding the Human Genome Diversity Project, in part:
"We are the original peoples of the Western hemisphere of the continents of North, Central and South America. Our principles are base

More by this Author

Growing interest in researching family genealogies and in related television shows such as "Who Do You Think You Are?" that trace historic roots of top-name stars are uncovering links to Native American...

Comments & Experiences 40 comments

Wow! Patty, when I posted the request, i didn't expect such a fantastic response, this page is filled with great information and i have enjoyed reading it, and I get a bonus too, this is only part one, I look forward to reading the remaining page(s) that you are yet to publish, Thankyou for a very comprehensive answer.....jimmy

Patty Inglish, MS 9 years ago from North America Author

I am SO glad you are liking this information, jimmy. When I began college, I took a series of anthropology classes concerning native peoples in the Western Hemisphere and it was overwhelming. Now there is even more information, I'll continue to find out all I can for many years. :) Thanks very much for the comment.

Zsuzsy Bee 9 years ago from Ontario/Canada

Patty! You don't do things in part, the whole "shabang" or nothing. Looking forward to the next segment.

Awesome Hub

regards Zsuzsy

Earth Angel 9 years ago

GREAT Hub Patty!! I couldn't take my eyes off of all the wonderful information!! Although I am blonde-blue-eyed I have native blood from my great grandmother!! I think many of us do!! I look forward to reading more!! You are a jewel for dispensing sooooooooooo much really GREAT information to us all!! Blessings on your day!! Earth Angel!!

Patty Inglish, MS 9 years ago from North America Author

Zsuzsy and Earth Angel, thanks! I'd been trying to figure away to touch on all the infomration in a single Hub, and foudn it could not be done. But, I think this is a good start and I really like the first photo at the top.

I did not find out about my Native American heritage until after graduating from colelge and workign a few years. I've recently come across the physical characteristcs that are directly lated and I'll list them on one of the other Hubs. It's info about teeth and hair growth and such.

Kenny Wordsmith 9 years ago from Chennai

"...my spirit will come to you without shame." Powerful, moving prayer! A prayer that can be adopted by all. My spirit embraced my Native American brethren's by the power of those words!I loved that part of your informative hub best.

Thanks, Patty!

Patty Inglish, MS 9 years ago from North America Author

Yes Kenny, it can be adopted by all. Thanks for liking this; it is truly powerful.

AuraGem 8 years ago from Victoria, Australia

Patty, I know I am reading all this back to front. I began with Part V and now I am reading this one. I am Australian, far away from this world, but the rich spirit of this world you have given me. And it feels just a breath away! Awesome!

Smiles and Light (Part 2 coming up! lol!)

Patty Inglish, MS 8 years ago from North America Author

I think you might be able to start on any page, whish is great at Hubpages.

Someday I'll visit Australia!

Graceful Guardian 8 years ago

The Great Spirit gave you A Great Gift to write about Our Peoples,All Our Brothers and Sisters,Fathers and Mothers,Grandfathers and Grandmothers,and Ancestors of the Great Earth.I am so thankful for this.

Patty Inglish, MS 8 years ago from North America Author

Graceful Guardian, thank you for your support. I will add additional information to these Hubs as I find it and place a full index at the end of this Hub for easier access.

Blessings to you.

DNKStore 8 years ago from Mississippi USA

Wonderful, very educational hub!

Just what you would expect from an obviously talented, dedicated individual like Ms. Inglish!

So nice to see historical information about the Native American peoples being preserved online.

Thank you Patty!

Patty Inglish, MS 8 years ago from North America Author

I'll keep adding as I gather more infomration, historical records and personal interviews. Thanks for the visit!

wammytk 8 years ago from Iowa

Awsome job!!! I have been trying to research the Turtle Indians. My soon to be daughter-in-law is 1/2 turtle and her Grandparents are somewhere up in North Dakota. She does not know much about the people but she is starting to get very interested. If you have any ideas where I can find anything about them I would love it.

"They have long ago, created their lies about the Pembina Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, who originally lived in western Wisconsin in the 17th century. The whites have infused the unfortunate history of the white French Canadians who lived on the plains of Canada before England conquered Quebec in 1763. For some reason the whites are claiming those white French Canadians were mix bloods which is a bunch of bull. By 1750, the Iron Confederation (in 1736 the Chippewa merged with the already existing alliance of the Assiniboine and Cree to form the Iron Confederation) had invaded the plains of North Dakota. By 1800, the Pembina Chippewa's had invaded the Rocky Mountains of Montana and were at war against the Arapaho (the Gros Ventre as well) and the Blackfoot Confederation. From there they would invade northern Idaho and Oregon and Washington. The evidence and signs are there for those who want to research this subject. The most important being the last battle of the 1877 Nez Perce War, which was fought at or near, the present day Rocky Boy Chippewa and Cree Reservation in Montana. Unfortunately, the whites are claiming that the present day Turtle Mountain Reservation is an mix blood Reservation, which is a bunch of crap. If its an mix blood Reservation than its an white French Canadian Reservation. Any present day Anishinabe Indians living on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota, who cling on to an Indian identity will be extremely wise to distance themselves from those whites who are claiming this and that, in order to create an white history for the Turtle Mountain Anishinabek. It is a no, no!"

Jerilee Wei 8 years ago from United States

Great hub! Looking forward to reading more along this line.

Patty Inglish, MS 8 years ago from North America Author

People are asking interesting questions, which adds to my organizing to write more about it. :)

Moon Daisy 8 years ago from London

This is a very interesting hub. I've been interested in Native American Culture and Religion for a while now, and it seems as if you're a real expert. I'm sure that I'll also enjoy reading your other hubs in this series. It sure is a very big subject!

Patty Inglish, MS 8 years ago from North America Author

It is very large and I'm adding to the Hubs all the time. There are always new communites being recongized.

nafeesatk 7 years ago

This is so much

Spiritwind 7 years ago

Does the dna testing get you automatically recognized by a tribe

Patty Inglish, MS 7 years ago from North America Author

Spiritwind - I have read that some nations at least, have accepted DNA evidence from some DNA tests for tribal membership; and I don't have a list of those tribes. You could contact the Nat. Amer. nation you are thinking about and ask them their qulaifications for membership - a certain guileline on percentage native blood may be needed and I don't know how mach that % varies by tribe. Some may stil l require paper doumentation like birth certificates, tribal records and other.

Let us know how this works out for you and others you may know.

divinemercylover1 7 years ago

WOW!!!Your research is quite extensive and you are a superb writer. I love Native America as well as the spirtual side to mysticism from a western Christian perspective. May be an oxymoron of sorts but thus lyes my passions. I love to write...poetry, short biographies, and my absolute favorite must be about Nature and Her true beauty.

Any advice would gratefully be appreciated. Bless you for such hard work and creative blessings you embrace. Kind Regards.....John

Patty Inglish, MS 7 years ago from North America Author

Thanks, divine...! - I've been studying and collecting information about this since college. It's pretty interesting.

wannabwestern 7 years ago from The Land of Tractors

As usual I am late to the party, but enjoyed and learned from this informative hub.

AppGal330 7 years ago

very good hub Patty Inglish :) i'm a mixblood NAI & always looking to learn about the People of the Nations :) great stuff!

Patty Inglish, MS 7 years ago from North America Author

Thanks for reading. I'm always finding out something new in this topic.

dahoglund 7 years ago from Wisconsin Rapids

Very informative. I share your interest but pobably not your knowledge.

Celticgreen 6 years ago

Excellent

BevsPaper 6 years ago from Central Indiana

Extraordinary! Such a wealth of information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

ahbless 5 years ago

I am 1/8th Cheeroke Indian and I lived in Anchorage, Alaska for 28 years. I went to the native heritage center and it was amazing because it showed all of the different ways that Alaska natives lived in different parts of Alaska and that some tribes in America are the same as in Alaska

Patty Inglish, MS 5 years ago from North America Author

Some of the similarities are astonishing, aren't they? Thanks for sharing that!

Ruby H Rose 4 years ago from Northwest Washington on an Island

Wow! I love all the information you give us on your hubs! This is a great piece of history I am going to keep for a long time. Another thing I love about HubPages is 4 years later, here I am posting a comment, and the story is still very relevant. Thanks Patty for sticking with it. Gives me encouragement to keep going.

Patty Inglish, MS 4 years ago from North America Author

Yes, and there is so much more to do. You can write on Hubpages for 20 years and still find more to do!

MizBejabbers 4 years ago

I really enjoyed this because you are a true scholar on Native Americans. Thank you for the information. I will explore your hubs further. It is very interesting to me because both my husband I are descendants whose Native American ancestors shunned reservation life, and now we are not recognized. I am hoping the Genome Project will eventually bring us all back together.

Patty Inglish, MS 4 years ago from North America Author

That's what I hope as well. We can get pretty far separated from relatives!

Blackspaniel1 2 years ago

Interesting, and informative. I am aware of several local tribes that are not known well elsewhere. This is always an interesting topic to learn more of such groups.